VIA began a series of meetings to plan the future of transit in San Antonio for the next quarter century. Some 200 residents showed up to help craft the agency's vision.

By Josh Baugh :
August 31, 2009

Roughly 200 residents filled the historic Sunset Station train depot No. 4 Monday evening to help VIA shape its future - a potential transformation from the city's bus company into a transit agency that offers multiple types of transit. They came because VIA officials said they couldn't plan the future without collecting and integrating the public's opinions.

Henry Muñoz, chairman of VIA's board of trustees, called the turnout "a good beginning." Still, he said, VIA must continue to reach out to the public in every possible medium seeking its input.

The public meeting marked the beginning of VIA's SmartWaySA campaign that ultimately will end with a long-range comprehensive transportation plan, expected to be completed next May. Monday's session, however, wasn't a typical public meeting.

It started out much like most public meetings - with speeches from leaders such as Muñoz, County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson and VIA President Keith Parker.

"We will begin to define the future of public transportation in this community," Parker said.

But the dignitaries who welcomed the public quickly stepped down from the stage and turned the rest of the 2½-hour meeting over to the attendees. About 20 round tables filled with as many as a dozen residents each worked through a series of questions about transit technologies, funding sources and potential corridors they thought best suited San Antonio.

One exceptionally young group, composed of several pre-teen students, floated the idea of subways under downtown, where there are buildings that stand in the way of transit.

"By going underground, you can avoid that," the student said.

Other groups were a bit more pragmatic.

Most groups called for a combination of bus service and light rail connecting the city's foremost centers - colleges and universities, the Medical Center, shopping areas such as La Cantera and The Quarry and major employers. For those groups who addressed financing transit projects, a dedicated sales tax and public-private partnerships were suggested.

The most popular ideas for transit corridors were Commerce Street for an east-west route, and then a series of others emanating from the city's center. Interstate 35, Interstate 10 and U.S. 281 won widespread support, as well as Broadway Street, San Pedro Avenue, and Bandera and Fredericksburg roads.

During the next few days, a plan will begin to take shape as technical staffers from agencies across the city meld together what the public says it wants. Each day, VIA will hold public meetings and continue gathering input as it plans public transportation for the next quarter century.